Have you ever walked out to your car to drive to work and realized that you don’t even remember getting ready for work?

Have you ever arrived at work and realized you don’t even remember the drive?

You were in the groove.

Race car drivers know that the groove is the fastest place to be on the track. They want to be in the groove because they will get to the finish line faster.

The two processes listed above are examples of us getting in the groove. The process we use has become so automated that we really don’t even think about it anymore. We’ve done these things so many times that we are incredibly efficient at them.

Our time is the most precious resource we have. So we should strive to refine the things we do over and over again until we get very efficient at them.

There’s a secret to getting in the groove with these things …Map out the process from beginning to end.

Step 1: Think it through.Depending on the complexity of the task, speak it out loud or write it down. Think about the order in which you do things. Don’t worry about that order now. Just think about how you actually do it.

Step 2: Do it.Now perform the task exactly as you thought it out. Don’t try to make any changes at this point. Just perform it and pay attention.

Step 3: Find one way to improve it.Look for steps that may be out of sequence. Consider shortcuts that don’t diminish the end result. Just look for one way, any way, to do it better.

Step 4: Test it.Now try that one thing and see if it speeds up the process. If it does, implement it. If not, scrap it. You’re looking for the most efficient way to perform this task. Not every idea for improvement will be a good one.

Step 5: Repeat until you’re in the groove.Keep going until you feel like you’ve perfected the process. Now you can work on performing each step along the way as efficiently as possible. Then you’ll be in the groove!